"Reindeer Games" Overlay Scroll Sawn Ornaments

Ok – so all of you who read my blog have already seen these. But I find that I show them there and then I wait until the patterns are available on my website before posting them here in my project gallery and then I forget to do it! I don’t want you all to think I am getting lazy – so I am trying to keep up with things and post in my gallery too.

The ornaments are approximately 3.5” tall and they are two layers of wood. The back plates are made from 1/8” maple and the reindeer are made from 1/8” walnut. They are cut on the scroll saw and then glued together to make these fine and festive ornaments! If you would like to see how the process is done, I have a five part video series that I posted on my site. It is on the Free Stuff page of my website under the Instructional Scroll Saw Videos link (or you can click right here and it will take you there!)

The videos show everything from applying the pattern to cutting out the designs to applying the finish. So all of you with those scroll saws that are gathering (the wrong kind of) dust in your shops – I hope this inspires you to drag them out and dust them off and give scroll sawing a try! It is fun and relaxing and a great part of woodworking.

PS – the last pictures is the same ornament cut from Baltic birch plywood and stained with acrylic paints and DecoArt Staining and Antiquing Medium. It give it an entirely different look for those of you who like a little color.

I hope you enjoy the pattern! Thanks for looking! (The patterns ARE available on my site at this time.)

Thanks, Martyn! I’m hoping that maybe one day I can get YOU to drag out your scroll saw and have a go at it! You are so great at small details I think that it would add another facet to your work. But I am a patient girl. The time will come when you are ready. ;)

Thank you both so very much. I truly enjoyed making them. Originally I was going to have them with a banner of some sort with their individual names on it (no back plate) but trying to get the banner to ‘gracefully’ connect to the ornaments as well as keep them sturdy and have a place to hang them proved to be too much of a challenge. Ultimately I decided to add the back plate on, offering both support and solving the problem of attaching the names and hanging them. This allowed me to keep the reindeer light and elegant. I think their delicate nature adds to the implied movement of them.

Thanks, Jaime:Sometimes it is best to start small and work from there. And remember . . . you always have me to ask if you need help! Even though we are an ocean apart, this internet thingy makes it pretty easy to communicate and I will be happy to help you as much as I can. :)

Hi, Larry:I did stack them but only to make an additional set for staining. The reindeer are all different (as are the back plates because of the names and configurations of the stars) so they all had to be cut individually. But making additional sets would be easy, as you can stack cut them and it does offer a bit more resistance, making it easier to control the blade on the tiny turns. I am glad you like them!

Wow! The contrast and variety of design where the stars is catching my attention where it is placed. Stars in relation to reindeer position is clever. The grain pattern adds color and create movement of illusion. I really like the design. BTW, the fonts is not in this world…. it might have come from out there… Sta Claus’ world. :-[)God Bless,

Thank you both John and Bert. I am glad you like them. I do take longer to design things than some of the other designers, but I do try to think through all aspects of the design such as the grain direction and the fonts. All the fonts that I used are modified quite a bit because most of them can’t be just printed and scrolled out. They need to be strengthened in certain areas so that they will stand up to scrolling, without altering the overall appearance. I wanted the grain to imitate clouds in the sky, and yes, Bert – I did strategically place the stars so they look good. I am glad that you notice all these details that I put into the designs. I always say my goal is to make the projects look hard, but in actuality be ‘easy.’ It pleases me a lot that you all like these so much.